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New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral says it was misled into hosting a controversial funeral for a transgender activist on Thursday and would hold a “Mass of Reparation.”
The funeral of Cecilia Gentili, an Argentine-born atheist and activist who advocated for the trans community, as well as sex workers and HIV/AIDS patients.
The event attracted more than 1,000 mourners who stoked anger in the Catholic community over what many considered their loud and “scandalous” behavior. The outrage was compounded by attendees reverently calling Gentili the “Mother of all W—–.”
Since Thursday the question has been how the cathedral was tricked into hosting the funeral. The Rev. Enrique Salvo of St. Patrick’s Cathedral said Gentili’s friends and family had requested “a funeral mass for a Catholic, and had no idea that our welcome and prayer would be degraded in such a sacrilegious and deceptive manner.”
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The “scandal,” Salvo said, was compounded by the fact that it took place as Lent began, the period of preparation for Easter Sunday, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Salvo said the church had offered an appropriate “Mass of Reparation” under the direction of the Cardinal. That mass took place on Saturday.
A “Mass of Reparation” is a mass held to re-sanctify the church after scandalous activity.
Last November, Bishop Robert Brennan held a Mass of Reparation at the 100-year-old Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in response to a controversial music video filmed by Sabrina Carpenter at the church.
The video shows Carpenter in a scantily clad black dress while several men kill each other over her. She also shows her attending her funeral at the church with candy-colored coffins, one of which includes the inscription “RIP B*tch.”
On Sunday, Gentili’s family issued a statement to the media saying they brought “precious life and radical joy to the Cathedral in a historic challenge to the Church’s hypocrisy and anti-trans hatred.”
“Cecilia Gentili’s funeral, which filled the pews in a way that the Cathedral can only do during the Easter service and NYPD funerals, was a reflection of the love Shad had for his community and a testament to the impact of his tireless advocacy,” the statement reads.
“We grant sainthood to Cecilia, for her life’s work, for how she ministered, mothered, and loved all people, regardless of HIV, immigration, or employment status. Her heart and hands reached out to those whom the self-righteous Church continues to belittle, oppress and punish”, and changed the material conditions of countless people, including the homeless and those in need of medical care. “The only deception present in St. Patrick’s Cathedral is that it pretends to be a welcoming place for everyone.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for further comment.
Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
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